De Haas-van Alphen effect and Fermi surface of yttrium

Abstract

The authors have found twelve de Haas-van Alphen effect frequencies, in the range 3*106 G to 108 G, for a single crystal of yttrium. The specimen, of resistance ratio 700, was purified by solid state electrotransport at the Centre for Materials Science, University of Birmingham. The frequencies have been identified with orbits on the Fermi surface proposed by Loucks (1966) from an APW bandstructure calculation. Agreement is generally good. In particular the 'webbing' feature which is thought to give rise to spiral magnetic structures in rare earth metals was found to exist, although the thickness is about 17% less than that given by Loucks. The results were all consistent with a spin-orbit coupling large enough to inhibit magnetic breakdown across the AHL face between the third and fourth Brillouin zones.